Fund manager Asia Pacific Asset Management (APAM) has closed its Australian long/short equities fund on the back of market consolidation and regulatory change.

The firm has merged the fund with the APAM Absolute Equity - Asia Fund as it steps up its focus in the region.

"We found that the pool of quality Australian long/short managers has significantly diminished. We decided to no longer dedicate a fund to this strategy," APAM chief investment officer James Chirnside said.

Regulation had also emerged as a risk in financial markets, particularly in the area of short-selling, Chirnside said.

Such a risk made the markets unpredictable and therefore difficult to manage a long/short strategy in Australia, he said.

"The reaction by authorities on short-selling we thought went too far. The actions were too interventionist. Short-selling has now moved from a market issue to a political issue," he said. 

Asia was now offering more opportunities, he said.

"Managers in Asia are now more risk averse than other managers. They have experienced volatility and so understand the risks," he said. 

The APAM Asian fund is a fund-of-fund that includes 14 fund managers in 18 different underlying strategies.

"We choose our managers because they reflect their view of the market," Chirnside said.

The firm has also appointed David Louie as national relationship manager.

Louie will oversee tretail and institutional distribution.